What If the Voice You've Been Ignoring Is the One You Should Trust Most?

What does it actually look like to build a life around your truest gifts - not because someone gave you permission, but because you finally stopped waiting for it?

Brett Blackburn has been doing exactly that for over 20 years. As a psychic intuitive, channel, Reiki master, and creator of Inspired Light, Brett helps people remove the blockages, limiting beliefs, and inherited programming that have been quietly running their lives, and replaces them with something clearer: access to their own inner knowing. She believes that when you clear what doesn't belong to you, you become your own ultimate guidance system.

We talk about what it means to trust that voice before you have proof it's right, why so many women at midlife are finally willing to take action on what they've known all along, and what it looks like to build a business - and a life - that genuinely fits who you are.

Plus Brett shares the one simple practice she recommends to anyone who wants to start reconnecting with themselves today.

This one will stay with you.

What You'll Learn
⭐ How to tell the difference between your intuition and your mental noise
⭐ Why listening is only the first step, and why action is the hardest part
⭐ What it actually means to build a life around your innate gifts
⭐ How to separate other people's energy from your own
⭐ Why midlife women are finally giving themselves permission to trust themselves
⭐ One simple daily practice to reconnect to your highest vibration

Key Insights

The Voice Has Always Been There
Brett trusted her inner knowing from a young age - through a spiritual calling, a year in Europe, and a deliberate pivot away from the "responsible" path. Her lesson: that voice never led her astray. The question isn't whether it's there. It's whether you're willing to trust it.

Listening, Trusting, Acting
Most people actually receive the messages more than they think. What stops them is the second and third step: trusting what they heard, and then actually doing the thing. Brett calls this the real work, and the hardest part isn't hearing the voice. It's moving on it.

Your Energy Has Boundaries. Start Treating It That Way.
As an empath or highly sensitive person, absorbing other people's energy isn't inevitable - it's often a boundaries issue. Brett explains how keeping your energy in your own space (and everyone else's in theirs) is actually what allows you to connect more deeply, not less.

Midlife Women Are Finally Giving Themselves Permission
Brett is seeing a clear pattern in the women coming to her right now: after years of accumulating evidence that listening to themselves works, they're finally willing to act on it. Not because life got easier, but because they've run out of reasons to keep waiting.

Legacy Is Who You Show Up As Every Day
For Brett, legacy isn't what you leave behind. It's about fully, genuinely embodying your most authentic self and glowing that out into the world. Everything else follows from that.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro: meet Brett — psychic intuitive, channel, and Reiki master
02:15 "Quick suit to psychic" — how Brett found her path
05:08 Trusting your inner knowing from a young age
07:22 It's not always a voice — the four clairs explained
09:12 Tracking your intuition: a practice for building trust
10:09 Building Inspired Light — the early days
13:07 What it feels like to build around your truest gifts
18:14 "Do I stay or do I go?" — how Brett helps people navigate stuck jobs
19:37 The client who got fired — and why it was the biggest blessing
23:26 Reiki as a gateway — and Brett's own formula
25:15 The season Brett is in now: family, balance, and new offerings
28:49 Parenting with intention — giving kids tools to come back to themselves
33:16 The Essentials Class: grounding, boundaries, and clearing energy
38:29 Separating other people's energy from yours
39:07 Energy, empaths, and why boundaries are the real answer
44:48 Awareness changes everything — even before you do anything else
47:46 What Brett is hearing from midlife women right now
50:09 Permission — the word that keeps coming up
54:25 The one daily practice Brett recommends
55:59 The legacy question

Resources and Links
Connect with Brett Blackburn and learn more about Inspired Light: https://beinspiredlight.com/
Find Brett's newest offering, The Essentials: https://go.beinspiredlight.com/theessentials

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbelden/
or at https://www.BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for Kristin's newsletter Big Deal Energy: https://www.BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

If this conversation resonated, share it with someone who needed to hear it - and consider leaving a review. It helps more women find these conversations.

#intuition #innerknowing #womeninmidlife #psychicintuitive #energyhealing #reiki #selfpermission #midlifewomen #womenleadership #authenticself #over40 #kindofabigdeal #kristinbelden

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi friends, welcome to Kind of a Big Deal. I'm your host, Kristen Belden. If you're enjoying the show, please hit the subscribe button. It helps more awesome folks like you find us and means the world to me. Today I'm sitting down with Brett Blackburn, psychic intuitive, channel, Reiki master, and creator of inspired light. Brett helps people remove blockages, limiting beliefs, recurring thought patterns, and inherent programming, and replaces them with new, healthier perspectives and vibrations. Her belief is that when you clear old patterns, you more clearly embody your authentic self. And that when you do that, life gets easier and it shows. I met Brett after seeing her speak at an event, and her presence and message immediately struck me. So I knew I had to get to know her better. We talk about what it means to build a life and a business around your truest gifts. How to start trusting the inner voice that's been trying to get your attention for years, and why giving yourself permission might be the most radical thing you can do right now. I can't wait for you to meet her, so here we go. Hi Brett.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

It's so good to see you.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I'm so happy. Well, I'm so happy to have you here. So I met Brett after seeing her speak at an event last year, and I was just so intrigued by not only what she was sharing with the audience, but just her presence, the way she showed up, and the fact that I could tell that her family was in the crowd and they were watching her with such adoration and respect and like deep love that I was like, okay, this is something special. Brett is a psychic intuitive channel and Reiki master, and she can tell you more about all of this and go into detail. But she's also the founder of Inspired Light. And something that stood out to me specifically in what she was sharing with us that day is that we are all psychic. And I don't want to misquote you, but I believe it was something along those lines that we just need to know how to tap into it. And she gave us these kind of incredible exercises. One for like clearing out energy that is kind of like maybe coming into your space, but also how to start thinking about what it looks like to listen to yourself again. And as I connect with more and more women who are finding their way kind of back into their intuition, I think this is a really big topic for a lot of the women that I chat with, whether it's in my interviews or the women I work with. It's that kind of like understanding that there's an inner knowing and they're just really keen to let that voice get louder and they're really interested in finding their way back to that. So I knew this conversation would be so inspiring for so many. I'm just so grateful that you are in agreement to come and chat.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Like you said, we can talk for hours.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

So when we first met for coffee, I had asked you, you know, if you had a pull to this path in your life at a younger age, or if you had tried out other career paths before you came into this space. And your quote back to me was you were a quick suit to psychic. And I thought that was the best quote.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

So maybe just share a little bit more about what you meant by that.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Sure. Um, well, like you were originally asking, but like when I was little, I definitely felt like I had a spiritual calling or whatever we want to call it, because I had like a imaginary friend who was like a spirit when I was very young that I had connection, you know, with. And even in my teen years, I always read spiritual books and stuff like that. And then, you know, got into more of those years where I think I probably let other people in my mind of okay, this is the type of job you're supposed to have, or this is what makes money, or you know, that that that sort of voice. And I was going to school for like marketing and like statistical analysis, and very like I had this idea that I was gonna wear like a suit and heels just to work, you know, every day. And then I went and traveled Europe for a year, and just of course, all the things that come along with uh travel and being on your own and just meeting people from all around the world. I came back and I was like, no, I think I'll be a psychic. And just like when I was about 20, that's when I really started getting into like psychic and healing work, and I just kind of pushed aside all of those things that everybody else was doing because it just never quite felt right to me. And so I just always we kind of like just followed that path of I don't know where this is going, but I know it feels good, I like it, and this is what I'm drawn to. And that's kind of been my motto ever since.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

That's amazing. I remember having that moment when I was younger, living in San Francisco and going and having an interview at McKinsey after, you know, coming from art school. And I almost had a different thought in my mind. I thought I would go into this like, you know, creative field. And then I ended up switching because I let a lot of those voices, I think, inform my decision making at that time. I felt, you know, really lost. I didn't totally know my place or where I fit or what I was even good at. And I remember calling my mom crying when I had my first interview at McKinsey because I was like, I can feel my life changing right now. And of course, you know, every decision leads you to where you need to be. And I think every path will take you somewhere amazing if you let that happen. But I'm always curious about what that like sistership of my life, you know, would have looked like if I had listened to myself all those years ago. Because I think it's not very common for people at that young of an age to really be able to listen to that for themselves. And I wonder if that's something that you could have been able to say out loud at that time. Like, did you know that you were listening to yourself in that way? Was that something you were actually cognizant of?

SPEAKER_01 6:17

I feel like I've had so many examples of where intuition just kind of came into my life. And I feel like I've always had this deeper sense of knowing, where it was like, oh, I know I need to do this, or I know I need to do this. And it was, I feel like I was lucky enough to trust that at a really young age. And I think for others, sometimes they get in that mix of they don't, they think they have to listen to their more analytical mind or hear their reasons, or I need to do this because my parents said I need to do this, or this is what the world tells me to do. But I always kind of had that just sense of I don't know why, but feels good to me, so gonna do it, you know. But at that time, it was I mean, as silly as it sounds, but it's like I could hear the voices in my head saying, Brett, you should move to San Francisco, or Brett, you should go here. It was very clear to me, and that voice never led me astray, and it put me up on that right path. But I think what's hard for a lot of people is getting to the point that they can trust that. And I think that's what kind of like you're saying, a lot of people, a lot of women are coming to that point where they're like, Well, how do I know it's my intuition? How do I trust that little voice? Or is it my heart? Is it my mind? Is it somebody else? And so that's what I like working with people on to help them be able to figure out that difference.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Yeah, I would be curious too how much of it is trust, but also to me, that first step is even being able to hear it.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Right? It's this almost, I mean, I think because sometimes we can have this image of it is a voice. And I think I remember you sharing in that presentation, it's not always it like a voice. It can feel or look or sound different for everyone. And I think the my struggle continues to be even as I get to know it more and more, it's how much of that is my inner knowing and how much of that is my delusion.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

You know, and and honestly, it's it's kind of a practice. Yeah, you know, in kind of what you what you were saying before, it's like, yeah, it's not always a voice, you know, it's like people are clear avoidant, so they might kind of see pictures, auras, images, or clearer audience where they hear things, or more clear cognizant where they just know something, or clairsentient, like they have more of a feeling or a gut instinct and they just kind of feel into things. And so sometimes it's helpful to kind of figure out what you are and work. I mean, you can strengthen all of those abilities, but if you're really good at hearing, just kind of practice listening to that hearing, or practice visual meditations, or you know, you know what, if you have a feeling about something, go for it, you know, or if you feel off about something and then check back on it later. It's kind of like what I call tracking your intuition. So you kind of know this feeling that I felt here, oh, that was the right thing, or this feeling, you know, over here, you know, even was that that that was really just a fantasy, you know, sort of thought or something my mental mind or old beliefs kind of constructed. So if you kind of play with this feeling, that was a that was my intuition, or then that feeling wasn't, I think that's a really good practice for people to get into.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

I remember you sharing in that presentation just even small things throughout your day. There was an example you gave around you had this feeling or a voice telling you to bring a towel into the car one morning, and it was you're like, well, I'm just gonna do that thing. And then something spilled, or you know, something happened that it was very clear that you were being guided to do this thing. And so maybe having folks be aware of those smaller moments where it's like, oh, that's something I should just try it out and see what happens to your point.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

I think a lot of people actually get the messages and then they but they don't listen to it. They don't trust it, and then they don't take action on it because the action, it's like first you listen, second you trust, and then you third you take action, but the taking action is the hardest part. I think people get the messages more often than they think they do, but so quick for your mental mind to take over and say, Oh no, I don't need a towel, or oh no, I don't do that. But it's kind of like reprogramming yourself to get back into that mode of, oh, I heard that little voice or I had that little feeling. Let me grab that jacket, even though the weather says it's gonna be sunny all day.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

I'm curious for you, as you were starting out. So you listen to yourself, you have this inflection point in your life where you know it's this path or this path, and you choose to hear yourself and to listen and to trust. What were those early days like for you? What did you start building in in the beginning?

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Yeah. So I was always in like the beauty, wellness, health sort of industry, and I was an aesthetician for a long time in San Francisco, also. And so I had this nice privilege of being able to build my business while I already had another job that I loved. And, you know, I think that was wonderful because I had a job that I loved, that I worked part-time, because also around that time where I had this like kind of epiphany, I remember saying to myself, you know, I really don't want to work full-time for anybody else ever again. And I think I was probably only maybe 19 at a time. And but that was nice because I had this job as an aesthetician. I worked part-time, and so then I had half the time to build up the rest of my business. And so I started Reiki, I think maybe around 20. And I started doing that. I was seeing people in person, and then I realized I was doing a lot more than Reiki. And I started taking people over the phone because you can see, you can see energy and information and feel, and you know, just using any of your psychic abilities, whether somebody's right in front of you or thousands of miles or dimensions away, you can still pick up on the energy. So I've almost always done readings over the phone. So anyway, I did that for a couple years, and then I actually went to a psychic school at Psychic Rising in San Francisco, and that was so helpful because it put a vocabulary to all the stuff that I was doing. Because before I couldn't explain what this was, it was just like, oh, I would just do it, and then information would come. So that was super helpful. And then I just continue to take clients over time. And my business has always just grown on word of mouth that, you know, friends recommended, you know, friends. And it was nice to be able to build up a business slowly without pressure or urgency. And that's just what's worked for me. I mean, other people do it and are very successful in a lot of other ways. But it was always enjoyable in this sense that I loved talking to like new people all the time and seeing what was going on in their lives. I sometimes I joke with some of my clients because we talk about these such exciting moments in their lives, or this like new date that they're going on, or they are just about to start a new job. And if I don't talk to them for like a week or two weeks or a month, I feel like I'm like, you know, tooth and nail. I'm like, what happened? How did your date go? It's like I need to kind of know because I get so invested in you know, all these people's lives, and it's it's just so cool to see, I don't know, it's all the exciting things that go on in everybody's lives and being able to help them through that.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

I was asking about those early days of what it was like to start building what you've been building, and there's a few questions that came out of what you just shared. I think specifically around what it means to build a business around your innate talents and your innate truths. What does that feel like? What does that actually mean as you are? You can just hear the lightness in your voice as you talk about what you've been doing. And it's fed you for this many years, and you still continue to sound so excited about it. And I think a lot of people can maybe sometimes be afraid to, first of all, maybe don't even remember what some of their innate strengths and talents are, let alone build around that. And it doesn't even have to be building a business, right? Not that's not meant for everyone. Maybe though it is rebuilding a hobby or a craft or a thing that called to them when they were younger, but they've forgotten all about. How does it feel when you're really like tapped into that thing that you are so clearly meant to be doing? I'm curious if you could describe what it feels like to actually build around that instead of building. Sometimes I think we can tend to build against the things that we actually are truly good at.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

I mean, I can't imagine it any other way. And I'm definitely the type of person that is the I will not go against the current in the sense of like uh like I need to be able to go with the flow and trust the information that comes in. So if something feels, it's not that I won't do hard things, right? If I know that that is what I am meant to do, but I'll never force anything or kind of go into urgency about anything because to me that doesn't work. I need to, like we were saying before, it's like I need to like know and trust it and be able to go with the flow and then balance that with the timing. And I'll go back to that in a second. Like what's coming to mind in the question that you're asking is I feel like it's about authenticity and about embodying who you are and what you enjoy doing. So it's like I feel like the people who I'm drawn to the most are people who love what they're doing and are excited about it. You can tell it's truly, genuinely who they are. And I feel like those are even the people that make the best like leaders because when somebody's like that, you're drawn to that. You're drawn to the integrity, you're drawn to the authenticity, you're drawn to that excitement and that embodiment of who they are. And so I do feel lucky enough to put myself in that category because after 20 something years, it's like I still love this so much. I would do this if I wasn't making any money. I always say, I'm like, I could do this until the day I die. Because it's just such a calling, you know, for me. It really feels like my purpose. That's also what I love helping people with because, like you were saying, so many people get caught up in the shoulds and the supposed to's, or this is what everybody else is doing. And I feel like you just kind of have to go back, or not you plural, but just for me, I just have to go back to does this feel good? Yes. Do I want to keep doing yes? And just keep asking myself every day.

unknown 17:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

I love that. I think it's sometimes it can feel scary, right? I there's a we do need to build lives that we can function within. And sometimes that looks like taking the job that maybe we don't love or doing a thing that maybe isn't our truest, highest calling. But I'm I'm wondering if there are folks that you've helped tap back into something that it's not that they build a whole business or a life around, but something that helps them unearth, something that still feeds them. You know, I think about that when in my last full-time role, I was so fed in so many different ways by that particular position that I forgot that I can still feed those things to myself without that job, right? Whether it is, you know, building community or volunteering or being engaged in X, Y, and Z. And it took me being away from that particular job to recognize as I was building my own business, okay, my whole business doesn't have to be all of these things. I can still tap into those things that I care about without that being my quote-unquote vocation. So I wonder how you think about that as you're helping people tap back into those pieces of themselves.

unknown 19:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I feel like, you know, that's a question I get a lot. And and even just with friends, it's like, okay, well, do I keep this job because it's stable, it makes money, it's this, right? And it feeds my life in so many other ways, or do I just go do something else? And it's and obviously it's different for everybody, and but I feel like what's been coming up a lot lately for people is well, how do I just not get so sucked in? Not go get so sucked into the things that I don't like, and how do I build more of the things that I do like? And sometimes it is outside of that job and it is a hobby or something else or an interest. But I think it's sometimes it's just separating, kind of figuring out what are the things that make you feel a certain way, let's say in that icky job, doesn't mean you actually have to leave that job, but it's how do you change the way you feel or you interact with the people or your daily life within that. And I think sometimes when you can separate yourself from your daily life or even the old beliefs that you have and actually see it from an outside perspective, you can see things very differently. So the example I'm thinking of, I have a client of mine who, you know, a really successful woman and she had a super high paying job, but it was terrible. Like her boss was just like the worst. I mean, like abusive, really. And I told her, I was like, she actually called me one day and she was like, What's gonna happen in this meeting? And she had asked me this several times before, and this time it was like I the the visual I remember seeing was you know those like coat racks. She was taking off her jacket off of a coat rack and walking out the door and basically saying, Thank you, goodbye. And I was like, I think you're gonna get fired tomorrow. And lo and behold, she got fired the next day. And it was the biggest blessing though.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

And because six months before that, I said, like, okay, in June or July, there's gonna be some major changes, you know, in your life, but it's they're all gonna be for the best. And that within that summer, she uh she broke up with a longtime, you know, partner, she got fired from her job, and it's like all of a sudden, she's like, I see it now. I see it for what it was, and how icky it felt. And she's like, I'm never gonna do that again. I'm never gonna be in that type of relationship. And luckily, she has some time to figure out what she really wants to do, but she knows now what she doesn't want, and she can build and plan for what she does want. And she just is feels so much happier and more free. And I feel Like that's what I want people to feel more of. There's that happiness, enjoying that freedom, really.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Yeah. When I think about that, it's a that lightness that comes with the weight being lifted off that you didn't even know was there. It's such a strange feeling when you find yourself in those moments going, and hindsight is always where the wisdom comes. Sometimes it's hard for us to know when we're in it. I would be so curious if this actually means something. As you were talking about sharing something that you were seeing for her that might feel challenging or difficult, but you can see that it's actually for the best. Are you ever receiving information where you feel concerned for somebody or you're seeing something that might not that might be challenging, but you don't see how it actually is going to be for the best? I think I'm trying to be mindful of the way I'm asking this question because I'm not trying to lead you somewhere. But I think sometimes folks can feel a little iffy or suspect about this level of hearing information because they go, well, what if I hear something I don't want to hear? What if I hear, you know, what if I get something that I'm not ready for?

SPEAKER_01 23:15

Yeah. So when I talk to spirit, let's say I know that nobody will hear something that they are not ready for. And so it is always worded or given in a certain way that is accessible to them. And I just won't get the information for them either if it's not gonna be accurate, helpful, and actionable. Like I even set the intention for readings that it is that it is all of those things. And if I just sometimes I'll get the information and I'll know that it's I have to word it correctly. And I've only had twice in all the 20 years, 20 something years, of people being like, I don't know, bruh. Like, I don't know if I can handle that, right? And within the week, both of those people called and were like, oh, okay, I see it. I get it. Okay, thank you. You know what I mean? It was like, so sometimes like people just need like a moment to process it, but the information I receive is always something that they are ready for and can handle.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

I think that's a really helpful lens, though, maybe for folks who aren't used to engaging in this kind of work or might feel some level of tension's not the right word, but this desire to engage with it, but maybe a potential, you know, resistance towards it. Can you talk a little bit about? I wrote down Reiki because I realized you're saying the word, I'm saying the word, and I actually don't know much about it. And so I imagine there's people listening that would like to hear more about what it means to be a Reiki master, especially when you were starting out all those years ago and how that has evolved for you since then.

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Yeah, I mean, Reiki is just a form of energy healing that you can do from a distance or you know, in front of somebody. And it's a it's a using certain symbols that have energy and meaning and a vibration to them for different things, and it's you're running energy through yourself, not using your own energy, but just using a universal energy to heal and shift and clear somebody else's energy. Reiki is what got me into healing work, but honestly, I rarely use Reiki anymore. I think to me it was a little bit more of a like a gateway into the rest of like healing and psychic work. So I think it's a great practice, but I don't really use it anymore. I just kind of have taken all these tools and everything that I've learned over the years and just kind of made up my own little formula.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Hey, quick pause before we get back into it. If you're listening to conversations like this one and something keeps nudging you, like I know I'm at some kind of turning point. I just can't quite see it clearly yet. That's actually exactly what I do. I work with women leaders who are in the middle of something: a career shift, a business that's ready to evolve, a moment where what got you here just isn't cutting it anymore. Sometimes what you need most isn't a whole program or a big engagement. You just need a few hours with someone who can help you see what you're too close to see yourself. That's the clarity session. It's a focused, one-on-one conversation where we dig into where you are, where you want to go, and what's actually in the way. You walk away with real direction, not a list of homework, but genuine clarity on your next move. If that sounds like what you need right now, I'd love to talk. You can find all the details at Beldenstrategies.com slash clarity. That's amazing. I would be curious, that kind of leads to the moment that we're in today, and maybe talk a little bit about the season that you're in and what are you most excited about? What are you working on or what are you thinking about as you're moving into the next few years?

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah, um, so several years ago, I uh made a actually maybe I'll talk about something else first. Because I do remember the first time we talked, we were kind of talking about the different seasons of life, kind of like burners on a stove. And it's like you can't really have them all on at once going strong. And so it's like I feel like I'm in this time of life where this I'm I'm always wanting balance, you know. So uh for me, success in my life means just like a balance, and so it's uh a balance of the things that are important to me, whether it's like family, health, oh wellness, friends, you know, all of the things. And right now I'm in this phase where my kids are what I don't know, and 10 and 12-ish. I always say, I'm like, I have my entire life to work. And right now, my kids are at this amazing, beautiful age where I just want to be with them as much as I possibly can. And so I really prioritize that right now. And I feel like we're at this like neat age of 10 and 12 where the kids are can kind of take care of themselves, but they still want us and need us. But then it also gives us more time to just, me and my husband, just to be together and, you know, have fun and do things like I was just telling you before we started recording. That it's like, it's kind of like we can go on vacation, you know, again, even just for a couple days or get away for the weekend. And that's just like a neat time in life where it just feels balanced in that way, you know, we're not in diapers or in any of all that stuff anymore, which is which is nice on the personal front, just yeah, just family and travel and just enjoying the time that we all have together. So I made this whole psychic intuition course that takes people from kind of beginner to be able to do full-on psychic readings and healings like I do. And then I I also realized that, like, well, not everybody wants to be a full, full-on psychic, you know? And so I kind of took these core concepts of all the things I've learned and experienced and everything, a lot of the stuff that's in that course, and broke it down into more accessible concepts that people can use in everyday life. And so I'm really excited. A lot of those are going to be launching. So I made some pre-recorded and also some like live online classes that I'm gonna be doing that kind of break it down into smaller parts. And so I'm really excited about being more like with like groups of people and teaching in groups. Some of the classes, I have some more basic ones that are talk about like your clear abilities and the chakras, but then we dive deep into like let's say the the second chakra, which is more emotions, sexuality, sensuality, your masculine and feminine energy, and your creativity, receptivity. We have another one, the third chakra, which is like your empowerment and your identity, and updating your identity picture and a heart one, we have healing, we have soul retrieval, just reprogramming your subconscious. So there's a lot of classes that I'm really excited about.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

That's awesome. I feel like the 20 years of to your point, building all these different tools and engaging in these different ways, and then having this unique bundle of work that you then get to share with the world that's so special. So I know folks will be interested in that. And as you were talking, I think it was because you started with your kids and talking about this special moment that you're in. And I wonder for anybody out there, if you have, I'm sure you have a perspective on this, but I remember it was either your dad or you talking about your dad, and it was how they could see what was happening for you at a young age, and they encouraged it. They didn't you try and say, no, you know, that's you don't have an invisible friend. It was from what I understood from what was being shared, it was they could recognize that that was a gift to encourage, not to discourage. And I think there's many women, mid-life, mid-career, you know, maybe kids of a certain age who want to have their children be more in tune with themselves. And I think as I envision the future for my own kids, 10 and 7, this unknown landscape that we're all marching very quickly towards, my biggest desire for them is to just be totally this self-awareness, the self-acceptance, I think is the word I'm looking for. It is a because it's not confident, it's like, no, I just feel this deep knowing of myself. And I think when you have that foundation, you just move through the world differently. And I want that for them. And I wonder, as you are a parent to young kids, how you're thinking about that for your own children. And is it something that you think about consciously, or is it something that just because it's so natural for you, that it's just, you know, you're not necessarily aware of it? Or so I guess it's a two-part question. Are you are you thinking about it like that? And then what does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 32:43

Absolutely. I feel like that deep knowingness, that self-confidence, like what you were saying, is so important for kids and to feel supported in whatever they want to do. And like you said, my parents they were open to that stuff and they were always supportive of it, and it never made me second guess or doubt myself. And I feel like supporting your kids in that way, and also like letting go of our beliefs. You know, we think of a generation ago, what our parents thought we should do, the shoulds are supposed to is what we should do with our lives, aren't necessarily what was actually going to be best. And now it's hard to think about what we think might be best for our kids, maybe isn't. And so I feel like it's about trusting the kids also to go their own path and support whatever it is that they truly feel drawn to. But most importantly, I do think consciously about it because at some point you want your kids to have that trust, that confidence, that knowledge in themselves. But I think sometimes we have to give them the tools to build that up. And so to me, I think a really great way to help kids is even like young kids, like at bedtime. It's like, what are you doing with your kids at bedtime? Like, how do they know how to handle how they're feeling, what they're experiencing through the day? Are they overwhelmed? Are they stressed? What's going on at school? Are they still thinking about something in their head that happened on the playground? And are you talking to them about those things? And then are you giving them skills to be like, okay, I know you're going to bed and I want you to be able to rest and not think about that thing that that kid said to you, right? And so for my kids, we have like a bedtime ritual and the things, you know, that we we say, and I give them very specific tools that help them reground themselves to separate the energy of other people, the thoughts that kind of maybe circle around in their minds over and over again, how to call in their light and their energy to feel back, you know, back into themselves. And my mother did that with me. And so, which was so special. And and I, some of the meditations that I remember my mom giving me, I still do them to this day. And so anytime I ever, you know, went to bed or not feeling, you know, like, oh, I had a weird day, it was like I had the tools and techniques to be like, okay, this is what I'm gonna do to feel better, and this is how I'm gonna reboot and re-energize myself and feel back to myself again. That's what I teach my kids. It's actually the I I have a specific class, it's called the Essentials class, and it's like the foundational skills of grounding, creating boundaries, clearing everybody else's energy out of your space, bringing your energy back to yours, running your energy in a way that makes you feel more connected, more clear, having you know stronger boundaries. And that class is actually for kids, for adults, for anyone. It's like the foundational things I go back to over and over again. Whether you just want to feel better and less stressed and more connected just in your everyday life, or if you're like, okay, I want to get more into meditation and cool spiritual stuff and you know, psychic stuff, it's like those are still the techniques that you do. So they go hand in hand with all of life.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

What a beautiful gift to give to a family. I think about that sometimes, you know, three years ago, version of me had no rituals to speak of. Right. I had things in my life, right? That yoga practiced, a few things here and there, but never intentionally did I have something or these exercises or or or ways of getting myself grounded again. And it's taken me all this time to like find the things that work for me. And I really like the idea of reframing it as ritual versus routine because I think sometimes we can, I know I am not good with routine just in general. It's not the way my brain is wired. I buck against it. And so I mean, me taking like a some kind of I don't know, supplement every day is almost impossible because I'll forget. Like it's like it's not ridiculous, I know, but when you find the things that really call to you and actually bring you some sense of relief or calm or joy or whatever that thing is, and considering it a ritual for yourself or you might be giving to your kids, I think is a helpful reframe sometimes. It's not adding one more thing to your ever growing list of things to do. It's something that you're giving yourself that, you know, sometimes it can feel like by we're adding things, but ultimately those additive things end up giving you more time in some weird way, right? You're adding something in, but it's actually building out more time in these ways, right? Julia Cameron talks about this a lot. It's all about listening to yourself and also recognizing that it's not always that when we add things in that we feel like we're we have more to do. It's those things that feed us that make us end up feeling like we have more time in some strange way.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

It's the same thing as running energy, you know. Even if what's I don't know remember who said this, but it was like if you don't have time to meditate once a day, meditate twice a day or something like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

And it's like oh, that's so funny. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

It's true. It's like you need to kind of feed yourself and reconnect in that way. And so what you were saying before is can you imagine if you had all of those tools and techniques from when you were a kid? Like how much more of a powerful, not like you're not powerful now, but like how much more powerful would you have felt throughout your entire life, you know, with every interaction, with every in every relationship, or or just simply just being able to, as a kid, go to bed at night and feeling, huh, okay, I feel better now. I can calm my nervous system and I can do this, right? And and it's also a great time to connect with your kids at night and they ask for it, you know, they're like, oh, can you meditate? Can you do the meditation? You know, so it doesn't feel extra for them. They they want it and they want to learn because it feels good.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

Yes, we recently started a nighttime stretching routine, and it's kind of turned into its own meditative practice in some way because I think we all run on like high energy all day. And so to not have that moment to wind down and calm down, it's like no wonder we're fighting to go to bed, right? They still have all this energy built up, and so to then be like, go to bed now, they're like, What are you talking about? I'm not ready for that yet.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

I think one of the biggest things that I go back to with like people or clients or whoever, or even kids, is like being able to separate other people's energy from yours. Because throughout the day, right, we absorb so much, we do so much, we have interactions and conversations with other people, we hear other people's opinions and projections and you know, all of that. It can be overwhelming if you don't know how to keep it separate from your space. And I feel like that's what a lot of adults don't know how to do, but that's also what a lot of kids don't know how to do. And if it does get into your space, well, then what do I do with it? How do I get back to me? And I feel like that's one of the biggest questions people ask me. It's like, how do I get back to me? How do I feel like myself again? And it's usually because so much other energy is in your space, it's really hard to reconnect with yourself. So that's usually the first step.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

Do you see a difference? I mean, for those of us that are high sensitivity empaths, right? I imagine you have similar ways of walking through the world. Like you can feel energy from other people. I tend to be so distracted even in conversation because I'm noticing your body language, the way you're responding to me. Right. I am for those people that already take on a lot of that. Are there, do you notice different sets of tools or different ways for folks that are maybe highly sensitive people? Is it even harder for them?

SPEAKER_01 41:17

Well, I think it's often a boundaries issue. So we all have like an aura, about an arm's length distance all the way around us. And energetically, when you look at somebody's energy or aura, sometimes it can be like this close, you know, to somebody's space, or it can be super far out. And it's like nobody else's energy can actually get into your space unless you have some sort of level of permission for it to be there. And you might not know that you have a certain level of permission for it to be there, but you might have a belief like, oh, I really need to prove myself in order to get somebody to like me. And so, like internally, you might be like, oh, okay, I have to push my energy into their space, or I have to be, I have to not have any boundary, so I'm really open so I can feel their energy and they can feel mine, and then we'll connect, right? But that's actually that's that's silly because you actually want your boundary, their boundary, you know, it's kind of like you want your energy in your bubble, somebody else's energy in their bubble, and that's how you actually connect and communicate with people best. Because once those energies start merging, it's really hard to tell the difference between what's what's my energy, what's my opinions, what's my beliefs, and what is theirs. And so sometimes it's just about being conscious of where your energy is, making sure you are running your highest energy through your space and it's filling up that space, and you're keeping everybody else's energy right outside of your space. And that is, and so like there's a way to kind of put up a light boundary, you know, around you, but that's what is going to keep all those sensitivities outside of your space. So you can really just focus on you, but then you can still tap into that and you can still see it if you want to or you choose to. So it's a it's the same thing as when I do a reading. It's I'm not gonna be like all up in somebody's space. I'm kind of reading it from a distance because I don't want to see, feel, and experience everything somebody is going through. I just want the information that we need kind of extracted from all of that. So it's often a boundaries thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:38

Hmm. That has me thinking. Well, it has me thinking about you know, we can all take on these identities throughout our life and wear them as if they are just the truth forever. And you're allowing me to rethink what it means for me to walk through the world as a Sensitive or empathetic human. It doesn't mean that I have to then behave in a certain way or respond in a certain way. I get to then be empowered to choose how I engage with that differently. And I think you're putting language to something I've been feeling in the last few years, which is this shift in myself where I'm getting more and more grounded. I have been telling people this and I don't know how to describe it, but it's like I can tell when I'm in a room of people when I'm grounded now and when I'm not. And maybe grounded isn't the right word, but I know physically now. I have a physical feeling when I am at that like frenetic, weird, funky, jerky, like weird energy where I'm like kind of bouncing all around. I don't know how else to describe it, other than like I'm over here and then I'm over here and then I'm like trying to talk to this person, and it's like I don't, I don't do well in that. I get really awkward, like it's just not, it's not a good environment or way for me to be. Or like, yeah, it's just this like I don't even know if force is the right word. It's more like I don't feel in control. I feel like I'm just at the mercy and the whim of whatever energy is like happening in that moment. Versus I can walk into the same space if I'm in a different like mindset where I feel I feel physically more grounded. I feel like I'm rooted and I'm not like my tree isn't swaying as much. Is that making sense before I continue?

SPEAKER_01 45:37

It's a grounded present. It makes perfect sense. And I think everybody listening to this can tell and feel and recognize that difference when they're in that like more frantic, you know, sort of mood mode and in that grounded present sort of mode. And I feel like that's kind of what we were talking about before with it's like you have to practice that. You have to know how to ground yourself, how to create those boundaries, how to, even in like the chakras class that I teach, it's like the the third chakra is kind of right above your belly button. That's like your power center, it's your identity, it's your energy distribution throughout your body. And kind of like how you can open that more and maybe close down, you know, your uh another chakra, or when the that second chakra, which is below your belly button, is sometimes if you're more emotional or like sensitive, sometimes you have to close that area down so you're not feeling as empathic if it's too much. And so we kind of go over the ways to open and close different chakras for different experiences. So, like, you know, let's say doing a psychic greeting, I might shift my energy in a certain mode. Or if we were on this this podcast, it would be one mode. If we were just, I was hanging out on the couch with my kids, you know, it'd be a different mode. So it's like learning how to set and run your energy in different ways just sets you up for all of your life situations.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

Yeah, there's something about being aware of it that changes things already, right? I think so many times we're running through the world at such a rapid clip and we have so many demands, and it's really hard to even be aware of the moment we're in, let alone recognize the energy that we're in. And so as you start to see it though, it's a very bizarre feeling. I think because this is newer for me. Okay, I've always, my husband will always say he trusts my intuition more than anything. And it's really more about me trusting my own. And so I think, but you're right. I mean, going all the way back to what you said in the very beginning, every time I've listened to that, I had the same calling that was like, You're moving to San Francisco. I knew there was no question, there's no like logical reason as to why I was gonna move there. I just, I was so knowing about that, and it was one of the best moves of my life, right? I grew up there. I feel like I found myself in that city. And there are certain moments where I've allowed that to be true, but I don't know that I've been as conscious of it, right? It was more just okay, I did this thing because it was I was being called to do it. But now, as we get older, and I think hindsight helps with this for those of us that maybe weren't as tapped into it before, because you can you see the history and the patterns, and that allows you, I think, to have more comfort to go, okay, I did that X, Y, and Z when I felt compelled to do the thing. And look where it's gotten me, or it's never maybe it didn't lead to the big, beautiful thing I had in my mind, but it didn't lead to destruction either, right? Like it didn't lead to like certain death. And I think sometimes that can be the fear is that if we make the wrong choice or if we listen to ourselves, it's gonna lead us astray. But I think ultimately, no matter what, you make of it what it is in some way. And by listening to yourself, you get to then show yourself that you're following a path that is allowing yourself to be more in tune with what those energies are. And I think it's a it's a funny thing as a middle-aged, mid-career woman. And I think you we, you know, I've talked about this a lot. There's a lot of women at that moment that are feeling like this and going, wait a second, what if I had listened to it all along? And, you know, what does that mean? And so no regret, but what does that mean for going forward? I wonder if you are noticing any themes or patterns that you'd be willing to share specifically with women that are coming to you at this moment. Are you hearing anything that would be interesting to share that you think is thematic? Maybe, and of course it doesn't apply to everyone, but what you're seeing for women at this moment in particular.

SPEAKER_01 50:03

Sorry, girl, it's true. I think people are, and obviously I'm making a generalization here, but they are kind of realizing and looking back and reflecting at choices, like you're saying, okay, when I did this, this did work out. But then also reflecting back on all of those times when they were like, I knew I shouldn't have stayed with that guy for as long, or I knew I shouldn't have stayed in that job for long. I knew, I knew, I knew, and but I didn't take action on it. And so, or I did take action on it and it and it worked out. So it's kind of seeing both ways, and I feel like women more and anybody, but what I've been hearing lately is that uh because they've had these years of experience to show, yes, I went this way and it was good, and I didn't listen to myself, it's like they have more points of reflection to be like, okay, now maybe I can trust myself. Like now they're willing to actually take the action. Like we were saying before, it's like the listening, the trusting, and then taking action. I think more people are actually wanting and willing to take the action right now because I think people are getting into this, finally getting the ability within themselves, or at least the permission to prioritize themselves. And I think that is really key. And when I say prioritize themselves, I really mean it in the way of not in a selfish way or anything like that. Like I really only want to choose the people who I love hanging out with, the jobs that I really enjoy, the places I really want to go, or I'm just choosing to stay at home and read my book because that's all I truly want to do, you know? And so it's like that sort of prioritization. And I think a lot of people are coming out of this. I need to prioritize all those things that I used to prioritize. And that kind of talks to your what you were saying before about like people's identities. Like people are really shifting identities right now and being like, oh, I don't have to be that other version of myself anymore. I'm coming into a new version of myself, and I'm gonna give myself girl permission to do that.

SPEAKER_00 52:18

Permission is such an important word because I think I hear this a lot, whether or not it is said out loud in that way. Yeah. So many of the women that I end up working with ultimately just need a mirror of reflection to allow themselves to give themselves permission to say the thing that they've known all along, whether that's about their business or their career, right? I always tell people, I don't have the answers you do. We're just gonna like get to those answers together in a way that's gonna feel good and comfortable, right? And allow you to unearth and then to your point take action on those things so that you can put it into practice. And permission, I mean, I really feel like that is the word. It's such a complicated word because so many times as women, we've waited for permission from others to do the thing or to say yes to the thing, or you know, looked at others as the permission, but really it's giving permission to ourselves. And it's such a shift that can happen, and it feels scary sometimes, I think, to allow ourselves that.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Well, it kind of seasons that we talked about, especially for women specifically. We go through so many different phases of our life through careers or family or children or you know, whatever it is, and it's just like, how can I embody this version of myself in this phase of my life? It's not like this, you know, forever. Forever. Just to be able to be grounded and present in the moment that you're in now. It's super exciting.

SPEAKER_00 53:54

Yes, yes. There's so many, I think there can be so much fear. I literally wrote this in my morning pages this morning, which was just because it's a yes for today doesn't mean that that is the yes for forever. It is embracing the moment and the season that you're in and knowing that that will also evolve. It doesn't mean it's gonna be the work you do forever. It doesn't mean that that's gonna be what you're known for forever. It is you're embracing fully that season and the moment you're in, and then being aware enough to notice if it might be shifting or evolving and allowing that to also, you know, kind of unveil itself to your to you as well. So I think it's a helpful way of releasing some of the fear around it has to be this perfect thing because what I'm choosing, I hear this from younger women all the time. It's this, I've built this career, I've already built this career. I'm so afraid that if I make this move, I'm clearly miserable. But if I move over here, what does it mean for everything I've built? Am I throwing everything away that I've built up to this moment? Am I choosing a thing that is gonna define the next 10 years of my life? And it's not a gift you can give to someone else. They have to figure that out for themselves, I think, somehow. But I just want to be like, no, it's okay. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. You know, if you got this far, you're gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_01 55:20

I think that fear is one of the things that shows up in the third chakra and like the the clearings that we do with like identity, because I think sometimes you have to kind of tap a little bit deeper into why those fears are there and why you feel that you have to stay in that old identity. Or so it's I think sometimes looking at the the why, the where, the what, the who, and what made you feel that way in the first place, to kind of have a little bit more of a grasp over that, that then helps you release that fear, which then allows you to give yourself more permission to step into that thing.

unknown 55:56

I like that.

SPEAKER_00 55:57

I like that a lot. Um, okay, two last questions. One is, you know, I I think that engaging with I'm now gonna be engaging with your essentials. I didn't like fully understand it. And now I'm like, okay, I need that in my life. So, but if you could share with people that are listening one thing that you would encourage them to do, if it was just one thing that they an exercise, a practice, a listening, something that they could do to just start themselves, like kind of kickstart, maybe their journey or whatever moment that they're in, if they're really interested in coming back into this inner knowing.

SPEAKER_01 56:34

I think it's bringing in your highest vibration every single day. And you can do that. You can take a couple minutes and close your eyes and sit and meditate if you want. You can also do it before you open your eyes in the morning or when you go to bed at night. But if you were just to visualize a bright golden light above your head, knowing that this is your highest vibration, and then just see it coming in through your head, through your face, through your neck, down your shoulders, down your arms, down your back, down your spine, through all your internal organs, your muscles, your bones, down to your legs, out your toes, and then see it filling in your aura all the way around you. That is one of the best ways to bring yourself back to yourself, your highest vibration, and that also by having all of that energy in your space, it's actually pushing out everybody else's energy and information as well. So I think that's like the number one thing you can do to just reconnect to yourself every single day. And you can do it a hundred times a day if you want, because it can be quick too. Yeah. It's just take a couple deep breaths, visualize it, see it, and move on with your day.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

Amazing. Okay, that feels doable. I love it. Um, last question that I ask every woman that comes into conversation uh in this way is it's really around legacy. And I think it's just because these conversations have led to this awareness that for me, anyways, legacy is not this big, heavy thing that we leave behind. It's the thing that we're actively building towards every day. And these conversations are all around unearthing what we care about and what matters to us, and so I like to ask everyone what does building a legacy mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 58:22

Yeah, that's a good one. I think it's actually it's bringing me back to the beginning of our conversation, which is fully, truly embodying your most authentic, genuine self, sharing that out into the world. And it's like that's when I think about legacy, I think about you know, it's like almost like what you leave behind, your children, the people around you, the people that have known you, and that's what I would want people to know about me, and also would want to share with them to just be how can you show up every single day as your highest best version of yourself and glow that out into the world. And I feel like that's that's the legacy I'd want to leave and share.

SPEAKER_00 59:16

Amazing. I love it. That's perfect. Um, thank you so much for doing this with me. An hour as usual just flew by.

SPEAKER_01 59:24

So I appreciate you. I love talking to you and we like to flow, so.

unknown 59:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:33

So good to see you. I'll see you soon.

SPEAKER_01 59:35

Okay, sounds good.

SPEAKER_00 59:36

Okay, bye. Thank you so much for listening and spending some of your time with me here. I hope our conversation sparked some new ideas for you. If you enjoyed the episode, please make sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's next. And if you're ready for even more tools and stories, head on over to beldenstrategies.com slash newsletter. I share fresh insights, stories, and tools for women leaders every week. Until next time, keep building, keep evolving, and remember that you are kind of a big deal.